Lifetime Membership Award
Paula Hirsch – California

Paula began her career as a Spanish teacher at a public high school in rural Ohio, where she was told by
her principal that her lessons were “too Spanish oriented.” After 6 years in Ohio, she moved to the LA area
and joined the faculty at Windward, a private secondary school. At Windward, she specialized in
developing interdisciplinary units including one on the dirty wars in Argentina & Chile that earned her
a Global Teaching Award from Immaculate Heart College. Paula also did stints as department chair, faculty
representative to the Board, and Coordinator of Faculty Development. She retired from Windward after 39
years of service.
Almost immediately on moving to LA, Paula became active in professional organizations and shows no
signs or retiring from those. At her local association, MCLASC, she has been president, representative to
CLTA, and is now serving as treasurer. When the Conference Coordinator of CLTA became ill, Paula
stepped in. She has now been organizing California’s large conferences for 24 years. She was proud to be
honored with the Hal Wingard Lifetime Achievement Award by CLTA. Paula joined the SWCOLT Board as
the CLTA rep in 2011 and served until 2019. During her tenure on the SWCOLT Board, she worked as the
Evaluations Chair, Program Chair and President. Although her time on the SWCOLT Board was relatively
short, it was one of the more valuable experiences in her career.
Paula and her husband of 50 years continue to live in Culver City with their dog, Charlie. They love to travel
and have enjoyed many trips, especially to Spanish-speaking countries. All of their recent to travel has
been to London to visit with their son and 3-year-old granddaughter, who frequently asks when Grandma
and Grandpa are coming back.